Button-setting machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. W. HAM.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

No. 437,924. Patented Oct. '7, 1890.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2] A. W. HAM. BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

Patented Oct. 7,1890.

1- n cams PililS co.. Marc-1.1mm, WASMWGION, o. c.

" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT WV. HAM, OF LANSINGBURG, NEW YORK.

BUTTON-SETTING MACHINE.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 437,924, dated October '7, 1890. Apolioation filed March 31. 1890. Serial No. 346,034. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT \V. HAM, of the village of Lansingburg, county of Rensselaer, State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Button-Setting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in button-setting machines, and more particularly to the machine of this class for which Letters Patent were granted to George A. Mosher and myself, dated August 9, 1885, and numbered 823,717.

In the machine described in the beforenamed Letters Patent and in other older button-setting machines a stop has been used in the button chute or raceway to arrest the descent of the buttons, so that the latter could be held by the stop and released one by one to be moved forward to where they were set. To do away with this stop is the principal object of my improvement.

Accompanying this specification to form a part of it there are two plates of drawings containing seven figures illustrating my in vention, with'the same designation of parts by letter reference used in all of them.

Of these illustrations, Figure 1 is a central vertical section taken longitudinally through the slot of the button-chute, setting table or plate,'the plunger, the pivoted bellcrank le 1 ver actuated by a treadle-bar to move the plunger, and also through the setting-j aw and its connections, and also through a staplemoving spring-plate arranged beneath the setting-plate, the parts being shown with the plunger moved forward and the setting-jaw down. Fig. 2 is another section of the same parts that are shown at Fig. 1, but illustrated with the plunger moved back and with the setting-jaw moved up and as engaging with the staple spring-plate to swing the staple of the button next adjacent to the one being set back and from out of the way of the setting-jaw. Fig. 3 is a top View of a part of the table, the chute-socket, the slot-plates arranged on the socket to form a continuation of the slot between the chute and settingplate, the drop-slot, and illustrating also the setting-plate and the pivoted wedges arranged on each side of the setting-plate slot. Fig.

.latter supported upon a standard.

4 is a perspective of the chute-socket, shown as removed from the table. Figs. 5 and 6 show in perspective and as detached from the chute-socket the plates used to form the slot connecting the button-chute slot with the table or setting-plate slot and the intermediate drop-slot. Fig. 7 shows in perspective and as detached the spring-plate made to engage with the setting-j aw as the latter ascends to set the button and by such engagement operated to engage with the staple of the but ton next adjacent to the button being set and to swing said staple up out of the way of the setting-j aw, this plate being shown as detached from the machine.

The several parts of the apparatus thus illustrated are designated by letter reference and the function of the parts is described as follows:

The letter C designates the button-chute, which is made with a slot S in its top surface. This chute or raceway is adapted to have buttons (into which fasteners have been threaded through the .eyes thereof) inserted therein, so that the eyes of the buttons will be edgewise in the slot with the fasteners pendent therein. This chute O is arranged on an incline, so that buttons having fasten ers therein and placed within the slot will slide down in' the slot by gravity.

The letter S designates a socket made to attach to the table T, and it is constructed with a cylindrical-form recess or sink a, which at its rear end is adapted to receiveand hold the lower end of the chute 0 when inserted therein, and this recess or sink is extended frontwardly and arranged in the perpendicular end of the socket. The letters P P designate two plates that are secured tothe front end and top of the socket, so as to form, in connection with said recess, an intermediate and perpendicular drop slot D on the front end of the socket, with said drop-slot at its upper end connecting with the slot S of the chute C and at its lower end with the horizontal slot S made in the setting-plate T the latter being connected to the table T, with the (Not shown.) The plates P P, where forming the lower end of the drop-slot D, are slightly curved frontwardly, so as to turn the buttons from their sidewiseposition as descending in I die 01 the perpendicular slot D into an erect position in the horizontal slot- S but above the curved lower ends these plates are at right angles to the horizontal slot S The letters W W designate two plates, one of which is arranged on each side of the slot S and both of which plates have inwardly and downwardly beveled edges where adjoining the slot S Each of these plates W is pivoted to the top of the setting-plate'l and each of them isprovided with a leaf-spring, which at its rear end engages with the adjacent side edge of the setting-plate. These plates W W, as thus constructed and arranged, are disclaimed herein, they being made a part of another application for Letters Patent now on file in the Patent Office and designated as Serial No. 197,109.

The letter F design-ates a spring-plate that is arranged beneath the settingplate, as shown at Figs. 1 and 2, with one of its ends attached thereto. The function of this springplate is to engage at its outer free end when forced upwardly with that adjacent one of the pendent fasteners which is next to the one being set and to cause it to swing up rearwardly and away from contact with the ascending setting-jaw, as shown at Fig. 2, and when the jaw has descended to spring back to its normal position, as shown at Fig. 1.

Theletter J designates. the under jaw of the machine, and this is provided with a setting- This jaw is constructed with an arm A, that is extended rearwardly and pivoted at 19. on which pivoted connection it is operated to rise and fall at the front end.

table T, the said plunger, the jaw, and the bell-crank lever being the same construction and arrangement that is shown and described in the older patent granted to George A. Mosher and myself, before alluded to.

The operation of the mechanism thus illustrated and designated is described as follows: Buttons having shank eyes with staples threaded therein being supplied to the chute O, and within the-slot thereof the chute being inserted in the socket, the buttons descend by gravitythrough the slot of the chute to the drop-slot D, whence they turn down sidewise, with the staples pendent therein, until they reach the curved lower ends of the plates P, whence they are righted, two buttons in the table-plate or setting-plate slot being sufficient to arrest the descent of those above, in which condition two of the buttons are moved forward by the plunger, that one in advance being forced upon to the wedging surfaces at,

ing into action, engages with the button lastdescended from the drop-slot to move it forward into a setting position in the slot, and by the engagement of the button in contact 'with the plunger said button engages with the button in which the staple has been set to move it from out the end of the slot.

When the chute 0, made with the slot S, is

combined with the. perpendicular slot D, ter

minating in the horizontal slot S buttons de-. scending from the inclined chute into. the

perpendicular slot and from thence into. the

horizontal slot are stopped when turning from their sidewise position to an erect one, and so that but one or two buttons can descend intothe horizontal setting-slot at a time, and thus by the parts so constructed and arranged the use of a mechanically-operated stop. is avoid: ed. This arrangement of astationaryinclined slot arranged in a button chute connecting with a perpendicular slot in which the buttons descend sidewise to enter a stationary horizontal slot differs essentially in construction, arrangement, and function from the use of an inclined rising and falling carrier or chute, which when rising receives a button from an intersecting chute and holds the button inthe slot edgewise while the driver descends to engage with the top of the fastener to drive it into the fabric while. so held.

While I' have shown the buttons descend-- ing into the horizontal slot S as moved for. ward to the end of the setting-slot by the plunger described and shown in the older patent to Mosher and myself, before alluded to,

any Well-known form of plunger that will operate to move the buttons out in the slot over a setting-jaw may be used.

,The function of the spring-plate F being to move up. in advance of the setting-jaw, so as to engage with the fastener of the button next adjacent to the one being set and cause the fastener tov swing rearwardly and then de-- scend to a normal position, this function would be the same whether the jaw moving the said spring-plate in the mannerdescribed wasactuated by the mechanism shown or some other mechanism. Hence I do not limit my application of the spring-plate for the functions described to. the combination with it of the means shown to operate the jaw. As thus made and arranged to operate, the use of a button-releasing stop is avoided and all the accompanying difficulty of its operation is dispensed with.

While I have shown the chute C and the plates P as separately made, if desired the chute O and plates P may be made in one piece of metal and arranged to be inserted in the socket and perform the same functions of having but two buttons in the setting-plate at a time with the column of buttons sup ported in the same manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat cut, is-

1. In a button-setting machine, the combination, with a chute or raceway having a slot in its upper face adapted to receive buttons having fasteners threaded into the eyes thereof and arranged on an incline by which buttons will slide down therein, of a horizontal setting-plate provided with a slot that leads to where the buttons are set and a stationary drop-slot arranged at right angles to said setting-plate, with the upper end of said vertically-placed drop-slot connecting with the chute-slot, and the lower end of the dropslot connecting with the horizontal settingplate slot, with the edges of the drop-slot at its lower end where connecting with the setting-plate slot curved, substantially in the manner as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with a horizontal setting-plate provided with a central slot that extends rearwardly from the open end whereat the buttons are set, of a button-chute provided with an inclined slot part and a connected vertical slot part, which latter connects with the rear end of the setting-plate slot by means of a curved union, substantially in the manner as and forthe purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the inclined chute 0, provided with the slot S, of the socket S, having the sink a, the vertical drop-slot D, arranged on said socket with its upper end connecting with said slot S, and the settingplate T arranged at right angles to said dropslot, said setting-plate having the slot S arranged to connect with the lower end of said drop-slot, substantantially in the manner as and for the purposes set forth.

4:. The combination, with the setting-plate T provided with a central slot S adapted to receive buttons having fasteners threaded into the eyes thereof and to have them positioned for setting, substantially as described, of the spring-plate F, arranged beneath said setting-plate, and the jaw J, operated to engage with the front end of said spring-plate, substantially in the manner as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a button-setting machine, the combination of a chute or raceway made with a slot adapted to receive buttons with staples or fasteners threaded therein, said chute or raceway having an inclined portion through which the buttons slide by gravity and a vertical portion through which the buttons will descend in column sidewise, substantially as described, a horizontal setting-plate made with a central slot connecting with the vertical slot part of the button-chute at the lower end thereof and at its front end constructed to hold buttons while being set, a plunger operated to engage with thebuttons descending into the setting-plate slot and to force them outwardly, so that one of the buttons will be positioned for setting, a button-setting jaw operated to set the end button so placed, and a spring-plate operated by the ascent of said jaw to swing back the staple of the button next to the one being set, substantially in the manner as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed at Troy, New York, this 26th day of March, 1890, and in the presence of the two witnesses whose names are hereto written.

ALBERT W. HAM.

Witnesses:

CHARLES S. BRINTNALL, W. E. HAGAN. 

